So Close, and Still So Far
by PrincessDaydream77
Summary: My first multi-chapter Lucissa fic. Narcissa's point of view throughout the Second Wizarding War, her son's fear, her husband's duty and her eldest sister's final hour. Begins just after the Skirmish, includes extracts of On The Edge. Inspired by The Fourth Black Sister's Collapse. Named after a brilliant song, but not a song fic.
1. Escapades Gone Right

So Close, and Still So Far

Summary: My first multi-chapter Lucissa fic. Narcissa's point of view throughout the Second Wizarding War, her son's fear, her husband's duty and her eldest sister's final hour. Begins just after the Skirmish, includes extracts of On The Edge. Inspired by The Fourth Black Sister's Collapse. Named after a brilliant song, but not a song fic.

Disclaimer: Anyone recognisable as not being my own personal drivel belongs to Queen Rowling, anything else is mine.

Chapter One

Narcissa watched in despair as the youngest Weasley boy, the Granger girl and the famous Harry Potter joined hands with the Gringotts goblin and her own former House-Elf, Dobby, and vanished from the room in a greying puff of smoke, barely taking notice as her own eldest sister's knife flew through the air, disappearing along with them.

Narcissa stood a frozen statue for the next few moments, barely noticing as a raging Bellatrix screamed in anguish and stormed up the flight of stairs by the fireplace, fury and fear warring across her face as she left. It was at that moment that Narcissa remembered the rest of her family, pulling her shaking son closer to her for a long moment before releasing him and hurrying across the large room, collapsing on the floor beside her husband, who was only just recovering from being thrown across the room by 'The Boy Who Lived'. She wrapped her arms around him, attempting to pull him into her lap, but was taken by surprise as he sat up unstabally and pulled her into his embrace.

"Are you alright, darling?" he asked over her shoulder, inhaling her scent as he held her tight.

"Yes, I'm fine. I managed to avoid the majority of the debris and so did Draco, so we're alright. Are you?" she asked, seperating the pair of them to stroke his cheek affectionately.

"Yes, I'm fine, Cissa. It's not the first time I've been thrown across the room by that Potter boy." he sighed, obviously embarrassed by the fact.

"I know, but still." she pressed, pecking him on the cheek.

"Narcissa, I'm fine." he sighed. Narcissa had known Lucius long enough to know that his strong tone of voice meant that his statement was final, and knew instinctively not to push the point further. Instead, she rose from his side and returned to her son, who had smiled a little at the sight of his parents' early loving closeness returned, which was the first time he had seen them like that again since his father had broken free from Azkaban, at Voldemort's request. But then again, his parents had been very withdrawn since Lord Voldemort had taken the house as a base, and had taken to only showing their emotions for each other in private.

"Draco?" she asked, catching his attention.

"Yes, Mother?" he responded.

"I think it would be best if you went to bed. I think we should leave your father on his own for a while." she sighed.

"Yes, Mother." Draco agreed, turning to the door, before returning his gaze to his mother. She sensed his question as his gaze switched between his mother and his father, and answered it before he even opened his mouth to ask.

"I'll be up to bed in a moment, I might take a turn around the garden first to clear my head." she stated, wrapping her arms around her son and beginning to lead him from the room. Meanwhile, Lucius was left to walk across the drawing room and settle back down in an armchair by the fire, gazing at the wood burning and twisting in the flames, wondering if his life would soon end in a similar way.

A/N: Sorry that it's small, but I wanted to get this story off the ground (I can't count the amount of times I've said that before!). Please review, so I know if it was worth it or not.


	2. Too Good To Be True

Chapter Two

A/N: Thanks to my magical reviewers, Cassia4u and MarianaNM.

The clock struck midnight, the chimes echoing through the empty darkness of the manor. Draco had been pacing the hallways of Malfoy Manor for an hour or two, sticking to the upper hallways, popping his head around the door every half an hour to check that his mother was alright. She looked to be sleeping, but as her back was facing the door, Draco suspected that she was only pretending for his sake.

However, just as he was about to look in on her again, he heard the resounding melody and decided to go downstairs to the drawing room, leaving the door still closed. As he found his way to the room, he noticed a dim glow coming from it, drawing him in as he went to investigate.

Surely enough, the room was already occupied. Lucius Malfoy was still staring towards the fireplace, the dying embers seemingly mesmorising him as much as they had hours before. Draco cleared his throat pointedly, catching his father's attention. The elder man started at the sound, before relaxing a little, recognising that the voice belonged to his son, and was not the voice that he was dreading to hear.

"Hello, Draco." he sighed, his voice quite soft, soft as the glow of the room.

"Good evening, Father." responded Draco, his voice a little stronger than his father's.

"I hardly think that it can be called evening, my son. The clock has just chimed midnight."

"I know. I heard it. That's why I came down, really. I thought I might come and sit for a while."

"Of course, Draco. Come and sit here." Lucius beckoned, patting the chair opposite to him. Draco came and sat without much hesitation.

"It's rather interesting actually, Draco. I used to sit awake in the same bedroom that you now have at midnight and I never heard the great clock chime from there." commented Lucius, looking slightly amused.

"There's a reason for that, Father. I've been on the master corridor for hours. I don't want to leave her alone, really. I'm a bit worried about her." admitted Draco, raising his gaze from his lap a little to gauge his response. Lucius' facial expression hadn't really changed, but Draco had seen his father in these kind of positions enough times recently to know that his father was just as worried about her as he was.

"Does she look alright? Have you seen her?" The concern in the man's voice was obvious.

"Yes. Well, she had her back to the door, but I think she's just pretending to sleep so she won't have to face what's happened. I don't want to bother her, really, but if she's still awake when I go back up to bed then I'll talk to her."

"Yes, I think that that is probably best, Draco. When she's like this, I think that it'd be best that she is left in peace. I'm speaking from experience."

"I know. I think I might still-" The young man was cut off abruptly when a large, midnight black owl tapped loudly and forcefully on the window of the room. Draco and Lucius both started in unison, a slight gasp managing to escape the younger's lips. However, he recovered quickly enough to jump up to the window and unlatch it, allowing the owl to swoop across the room, dropping an emerald green envelope to the table before swooping back out again. The two men looked at each other for a moment, before Draco went to close the window again, leaving his father to break the seal on the envelope. Draco just about caught sight of the crimson ink adorning the parchment inside, glimmering in the firelight as Lucius began to read.

_My servants,_

_I cannot express my displeasure at the escapade that occured in your household earlier today. It will not be forgotten, however I may be willing to forgive, at least to overlook.  
I do not wreak revenge on those who have pledged their allegiance to me, whether consistantly successful in my service or otherwise.  
Heed this warning in the future,_

_The Dark Lord._

The two Malfoy men sat in silence for a moment, just staring at each other, re-reading the letter over and over again, as if they couldn't believe what they had just read.

"He's not going to punish us." exclaimed Draco, his face lighting up.

"Yes. It's almost unbelievable." breathed Lucius in return, sitting for a moment before darting his hand towards the letter, his eyes darting across the page over and over again.

"It's like it's too good to be true." laughed Draco, still trying to read his father's expression. However, the smile disappeared once his father returned his gaze, the elder man's eyes filled with fury, worry and terror all at once. Lucius' low hissing response struck terror into his son's heart as well.

"That's because it is."

The pair sprinted around from the room, Lucius running through the lower rooms and Draco to the master bedroom. Neither found what they were looking for, so decided to run through the garden together, Draco remembering his mother's earlier statement about clearing her head. It seemed that their search was to be fruitless once more, until a flash of blonde came into view.

"Draco, go and wake your aunt. Tell her what's happened."

"But, Father-"

"Now!" His sudden outburst of anger shocked him, but he did as he was told and bolted for the house. Lucius, however, ran in the opposite direction, falling limply to his knees as he caught sight of his wife. It was not a sight that he welcomed even in his worst nightmares.

Narcissa's golden waves were still falling down her back, glinting in the reflected moonlight, but were beginning to tangle together with the small silver stones on the gritty path of the rose garden, hiding her face from view. Lucius pulled it back gently, and once again wished that he hadn't. His darling wife's face was covered with cuts and bruises, most noticably a large gash running thickly across her cheek. He had never seen her beauty marred so violently, and it pained him just as much as if the injuries were his own.

He slowly crawled further towards her, lifting her pale body up into his lap, for once never minding that his expensive robes were being soaked in blood, though he felt almost dead himself as her body fell alarmingly limp against his knees.

Tears welled up in his eyes, cascading in a river down onto his darling's face. He then picked her carefully up off the gravel, dimly aware of Bellatrix screaming at him from across the garden as he Apparated the pair of them to their bedroom.

Once they arrived, Lucius gently laid his wife down on the bed, while he ran downstairs to their medical room, where Narcissa had insisted on keeping supplies of bandages and ointments. Gathering what he needed up in his arms, he Apparated back to their bedroom.

It took Lucius well over half an hour to treat Narcissa's injuries. He bandaged her waist, where a large cut lay, put anti-bruising ointment on the slowly purpling bruises and healing the cuts with his wand.

When he had finally finished, Lucius cleaned the blood from the sheets with a vanishing spell, climbed between the whiteness and wrapped his arms gently around Narcissa, smiling as he felt her weakly snuggle into his chest.

"I won't let anyone hurt you, darling. I promise. As long as I can, I will keep you safe."

And with that, the pair fell fast asleep.

A/N: Please review!


	3. Reflection and a Prophecy?

Chapter Three

A/N: Thanks to my brilliant reviewer, MarianaNM.

_The Dark Lord. It must have been him, as his bright red eyes pierced the darkness of the Forbidden Forest. Lucius watched in vain as his darling wife knelt beside Harry Potter. She had been sent to determine whether the boy was dead or not, but Lucius knew that if he wasn't, Narcissa would take the full force of Voldemort's anger._

_She had turned to face the crowd now, fear in her eyes that Lucius was certain was invisible to anyone else but him, as he knew her emotions almost as well as his own._

_"Well?" The hiss pierced the silence as the Dark Lord questioned her._

_"He is dead." stated Narcissa simply, her voice giving away none of the fear in her eyes. Lucius almost sighed in relief. But Voldemort was not so convinced._

_"Is he?" he asked, evidently trying to stare the woman down, though thankfully unsuccessful in his attempt._

_"Yes, My Lord." persisted Narcissa, a slight tone of panic remaining in her voice. Her gaze caught his for just a moment. She was lying._

_Lucius' thoughts began to whirl in his mind, his ears suddenly beginning to ring. His wife, his darling wife, was attempting to lie to the greatest Legilimens of their time._

_"I think that you are lying to me, Narcissa." he hissed once more, the venom now evident in his voice._

_"My Lord?" she questioned, her voice almost non-existant._

_"He is not dead, Narcissa. So why would you tell me that he is? Has your loyalty, in fact, changed?"_

_"No, My Lord, of course not!" she cried, her voice now extremely fearful._

_"Then why?" he hissed once again, his red eyes boring into the celeste blue ones now brimming over with tears of panic._

_"I just want to find my son, that's all I want, My Lord, to know that he is safe." she cried, desperately trying to make the man see the love she had for her son. But he did not, for he couldn't love. Only Lucius could understand the pain and fear coursing through her body, as he felt it just as much as she did._

_"There is no excuse for desertion, Narcissa." the man hissed, bringing Lucius' fear to an even higher pitch as he pulled back his wand, its tip aimed towards the cowering blonde in front of him. Then, the most Unforgivable Curse left his lips and all Lucius could feel in the world was the pain of loss caused by the flash of green light and the high-pitched echoing scream._

Lucius bolted upright with a gasp, taking a moment to comprehend the familiar surroundings of his and Narcissa's bedroom at Malfoy Manor. His pants were broken slightly by a sigh of relief. It had all been a dream. Well, almost all. The screams were real.

Lucius quickly turned to his left side and his heart nearly broke. Narcissa, though still very much alive, was thrashing and crying out in her sleep.

Barely thinking, Lucius reached out and took hold of the woman's hands, attempting to calm her, with little success, as she tried to fight his hands from hers.

"Narcissa! Cissa, it's alright, I'm here! It's Luce, I'm here, darling. You're alright, it's just a dream." Finally, his voice seemed to penetrate her dreams and she bolted upright just as he had, screaming uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms around her immediately, fighting her cries and pulling her so her head rested on his chest. A few moments later, Narcissa's eyes locked with his and her arms flew around his neck.

"Luce!" she sobbed. "Oh, Luce, it was terrible. It was..." She could go no further before collapsing against her husband's chest once more, her tears soaking through his shirt almost immediately. Lucius stroked her hair as she cried, trying to sooth her.

"I was dreaming about... about what happened. You know." she said, trying to keep her voice level, yet tears still streaking down her face. Lucius paused for a moment, considering the impact what he was about to say would have on his wife.

"Narcissa? I've been wondering... could you, perhaps, tell me about what happened?" As soon as he spoke the words, Narcissa's face dropped downwards, her mouth opening slightly as she considered what he was saying.

"Alright." she acquiesced. She took a deep breath, then turned to face Lucius and began to speak, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"I went into the garden, like I told you, to calm down a little. I thought it would be best to leave you alone, so that you could calm down yourself, so I decided to go to the rose garden. I sat there for a while, then Draco came to find me. I went back upstairs and he started just pacing the corridor outside the bedroom. I wanted to go back outside again, but I knew he wouldn't let me get away with it, so I waited. Eventually, midnight chimed and he went downstairs. So did I. I went back out to the garden and sat there. Then..." She stopped for a moment, breathing deeply a few times, then looking up from her lap to meet her husband's gaze. He nodded his head toward her and she continued.

"Then I heard a noise. Just a faint one, like a rustling of autumn leaves in the wind. I ignored it at first, but then I heard it again. This time, I didn't ignore it, I couldn't. So I stood and looked around. Then I heard it once more, just once, only louder. Then..."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just blackness. The next thing I remember was waking up here a few minutes ago." she answered, a slight hint of worry entering her voice. Lucius opened his mouth briefly to speak, but, finding a lack of words to say, pulled his wife to his chest instead, kissing the top of her head gently.

"Luce?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think he'll go to the school? Potter, I mean, do you think he'll go back?" she asked, as the pair shuffled back down into bed, Narcissa snuggling her head into her husband's chest once more, more comforting than any pillow could ever be to her.

"Probably. He could never resist a chance to place the hero." murmered Lucius distastefully. Though he almost never spoke in such a disgusted tone in his wife's presence, some people just brought that side out in him. Potter was one of them.

"Draco will be going as well, then." stated Narcissa, her voice cracking a little. "I'll have to give him my wand, you know." Lucius started a little, turning his head to look at her.

"What about you? We'll both be unarmed."

"Yes, but Draco won't and that is more important."

"Yes."

The couple spoke no more, but subconciously moved closer to each other. Narcissa fell asleep in her husband's arms for the second time that night, but this time, both slept peacefully until the morning.

A/N: Under a week, I'm doing well! Please review!


	4. Time to Survive

Chapter Four

Six days had passed since Potter's escape and, though Narcissa was now fully recovered from her injuries and able to move around the manor, the woman was sure that she had been counting every one of the hundred and forty-four hours as a time she was lucky to be alive. Lucius had been forced to attend two Death Eater meetings in that time, though they were now held at the old Gaunt House, as the Malfoys could 'no longer be trusted' to host the Dark Lord's fighters.

The night after the second meeting was when everything changed. Narcissa was lying awake in bed, listening to the calls of the peacocks outside. Before he left, in the late evening, Lucius had told her to go to sleep and not to wait for him, and she had been set to obey him. But, of course, her anxious mind would not permit her to sleep until her husband was lying down next to her, as it had never done, in truth. So she waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, well after the clock chimed midnight, the bedroom door opened and closed with a soft clicking sound, quiet footsteps padded across the floorboards and the sound of leather and fabric being placed on the chair was the only sound audible through the thick silence hanging over the room.

"What happened?" asked Narcissa, her voice quiet, yet clear.

"You're still awake." he replied, with a slight undertone of shock, though he was unsure as to why, due to the routine this had been in the previous war, as had been deliberately avoiding the question his wife had asked him.

"I couldn't sleep. Not with the way things are, when I don't know if you'll come back home at night, even at all. It scares me." she sighed, a smile reaching her lips a little as she felt her husband wrap his arms around her from behind.

"You know I'll come back, darling. I always do." he reassured her, balancing on his right arm to lean up and kiss the crown of her head gently. She slowly turned around to face him, bringing a smile to his face, which disappeared when he saw his wife's impassive expression.

"You didn't answer my question." she observed, her voice small and almost saddened.

"I didn't think that you'd want an answer."

"Well, I did, so, can I have an answer, please?" she persisted, smiling a little. Lucius smiled along with her. Narcissa had developed a way of getting any information she wanted from him, which twenty-five years later still amused him greatly. However, the warmth of the moment was soon lost and replaced with an awkward silence.

"Well?" she questioned, still wanting an answer.

"You were right." he began softly, running a hand through his hair in stress. "The Dark Lord is planning to attack Hogwarts as soon as he recieves intelligence that Potter and his friends arrive in Hogsmeade. So all that is left to do now is wait, really."

"Thank you for telling me, Lucius." Narcissa sighed, relaxing into the pillows again and turning onto her right side, leaving her back facing her husband. He, in turn, lay on his left side for a few minutes.

Eventually, Narcissa could resist no longer and turned her face sideways, rolling over slightly so that she could just see her husband. Ironically, Lucius had done the same thing at precisely the same time and their eyes met through the darkness. Both stayed in an uneasy silence, staring at each other for a moment, before Lucius opened his arms towards her, curving his palms a couple of times, a well-known gesture for the two of them. A smile crept onto Narcissa's face at his gestures and she moved across the bed, coming to rest in his still extended arms. And as she rested her head on her husband's chest, everything was calm. For a few moments, at least.

Just as everything in the house had calmed, a loud and urgent knock resounded through the hallways, one that belonged unmistakably to Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Cissy, Lucius, open the door! It's time! He's called me, Cissy, Potter's arrived in Hogsmeade, it's now! The final battle is now!"

These were the words that the Malfoy family had dreaded hearing, since the Skirmish, since the Dark Lord's return, even, perhaps, since He fell for the first time. Now they were true.

The pair rose from their bed, each turning to go to their seperate wardrobes and dress for the battle ahead of them. When they both returned, Lucius was wearing a greying black leather breastplate, the sleeves coming down in the same pattern, with a darker black robe with no sleeves on top. These were the clothes that Lucius had always worn when going into battle for the Dark Lord, robes that he had not donned since the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. His dark boots tapped lightly against the floor as he paced the room, waiting for his wife to come out from her personal dressing room.

Finally, a door lightly creaked and Narcissa appeared from behind it. She was dressed in a dark, pink pearl-shaded satin dress, with a midnight shaded robe pulled over the top, the silver clasp reflecting the outside moonlight. Her hair was partly pulled up, for the sake of propriety, but the rest hung quite limply down her back. The heels of her boots clacked against the wooden floor as she approached him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him with all the passion she had ever felt. Then another impatient knock pounded against the door and they pulled away, preparing themselves to fight.

But this wasn't the same as the last war, they saw that so clearly now. They weren't fighting for Voldemort. They were fighting for their son, for their family. It didn't really matter who won or who lost.

They were fighting for their right to survive together.

A/N: Seeing as I've got a bit of writer's block on just about every other story, I thought I'd update this one again. Please review!


	5. Lies

Chapter Five

A/N: Thanks, as always, to my constantly brilliant reviewers, MarianaNM and .

The Battle of Hogwarts was raging strongly. The Dark Lord had called for all of his followers to join his forces in the forest in the earlier hours of the evening, yet here it was, well into the night and there was still no sign of Draco, an incredibly worrying thing for his parents.

The Snatchers and such like had gone forwards to try and break down the school's defences, while Voldemort and his Inner Circle of followers had taken refuge in the Forbidden Forest, until such a time as the so-called Boy-Who-Lived handed himself over to them. Even though the Malfoys were no longer trusted, they still had enough status as to be kept within the safety of the Inner Circle.

The Dark Lord was one of two standing, pacing the forest floor with Bellatrix, the other, a few submissive steps behind him. The remaining Death Eaters were either sat or knelt down on the uneven ground, waiting for their orders to be given, their battle-scarred faces looking slightly impatient, even a little bored.

Lucius and Narcissa themselves were sat together on a large rock, her head rested heavily on his shoulder and his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Previous to the war, the two, although they had always had such a loving relationship within their own home, would have never even thought of showing that much affection in public, but, due to the threat hanging dauntingly over their family's heads, they had found that they no longer cared for public opinion. After a couple of minutes, the woman lifted her head slightly, turning to face her husband and leaning close to him.

"Luce, where is he?" Narcissa asked in a whisper, the worry clear in her voice.

"I don't know, Cissa. I truly don't know." came the quiet reply. This seemingly sent the woman over the edge, as rivers of silent tears began to fall down her face, wetting the shoulder of her husband's robe, while his arm wrapped further around her, trying to give comfort that he knew fully that he was unable to give. Luckily, none of the impatient army of Death Eaters noticed this, as they no longer took note of the Malfoys' actions, due to their newfound unimportance in the ranks.

Suddenly, the tears stopped in shock, as a branch cracked under a foot and the entire of the Dark Lord's Inner Circle turned to face the source of the sound. To their collective surprise, the sound had come from the person they had been most wanting to see, yet dreading, all at once. It had come from Harry Potter.

The Boy Who Lived had decided to come to die. It almost broke Narcissa's heart to see the boy striding towards the group of his enemies, knowing that his fate would be sealed in a few moments time at the hands of the man who had ruined his life as a baby. Actually, thinking of it, a large amount of the people standing before Harry Potter had done something to hurt him. Rabastan Lestrange had almost killed Ginny Weasley, who Harry was in love with, Bellatrix had killed Sirius and the Dark Lord, of course, had commited the worst sin possible to a small child, by taking away his parents.

It was all the fault of Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy, made far back in the early spring of 1980, where she predicted that a baby born at the end of July would vanquish the Dark Lord. What was relatively unknown, however, was that the prophecy actually could have referred to three boys, not two. Draco had actually been due to be born at that time as well as Potter and Longbottom, but had been born almost two months prematurely after Narcissa had tripped and fallen into a banister on the main staircase at Malfoy Manor, triggering the start of her labour. Narcissa had felt the relief as soon as she had realised of the prophecy's contents, knowing how close she could have come to losing the only child she could ever have. Narcissa was so fiercely protective of Draco mainly to do with the fact that after nine miscarriages in the eight years she had been married before Draco's birth, he truly was her miracle baby.

Suddenly, a flash of green light emerged from the Dark Lord's wand, sending the Gryffindor boy tumbling to the ground, but surprisingly, he was not the only one. Voldemort also fell.

A large gasp was emitted from the crowd of Death Eaters as their Master fell to the ground, while Bellatrix hurtled forwards from the group, collapsing to her knees beside the snake-like man. This continued for a few moments until his scarlet eyes flashed open.

"My Lord? My Lord, are you hurt, My Lord?" Bellatrix's voice was the only one audible in the clearing of the forest. The man paid little positive heed to Bellatrix, however, merely pushing her away.

"That will do, Bellatrix." was the man's only response. Bellatrix withdrew her hands reluctantly as her love climbed shakily to his feet, turning almost immediately to his Death Eaters, surveying the ranks for a reason unknown to the surveyed. Narcissa did not break her stare toward the man, though never quite meeting his gaze, for fear that the nerves conveyed in her eyes would become clear to him. However, just as Lucius' hand found hers, just hidden behind their backs, a flash of light flew across the clearing, hitting Narcissa full force in the side and causing her to stagger slightly, Lucius catching her before she visibly fell before the masses.

"You." Voldemort sneered. Narcissa noted the fact that he longer referred to her either by name or by title, which was slightly relieving, though almost unnerving at the same time. Narcissa took a tentative step forwards, bringing the attention of the group to her.

"My Lord." she whispered, barely even audible to herself, let alone anyone else.

"Check him. Ensure that he is dead." the man instructed with venom. Narcissa no longer had the nerve or the energy to contradict the man, so obeyed, walking slowly across the clearing towards the lifeless young boy on the other side of it. She turned her head only briefly, avoiding the glances of anyone but Lucius, before returning her concentration to the boy.

She knelt carefully to the floor, mindful of the pale satin of her dress being marred by the dirty forest floor, though mentally reprimanding herself for a moment for thinking such trivial thoughts at a time like this. Unable to wait any longer, Narcissa gently reached her hand out to the boy's chest, though almost retracting it as she felt a steady heartbeat.

The Boy Who Lived, true to his name, had not died. Panic flashed in the blonde woman's mind. If she told the Dark Lord, true, he would kill the boy, but he may also harm her or her family in his rage. Suddenly, another idea entered her mind and she leant further down towards Potter, her long hair dropping down to cover his face.

"Is he alive? Draco, is he alive? Is he in the castle?" Narcissa whispered, her voice so quiet that she was uncertain whether Potter had heard it. She soon discovered that he had, however, as he whispered a response almost immediately.

"Yes."

Narcissa had to restrain herself from breathing a sigh of relief. That one word had condemned the woman's worst fear. She barely had time to think before rising to her feet, turning her head across her shoulder to address the silent hoardes of fighters.

"He is dead."

The silence was broken by erupting cheers of Death Eaters, sparks shot into the air by over a dozen wands. Narcissa, however, ignored all of this, neither accepting nor rejecting the victory. Instead, she concentrated completely on her destination, weaving through the crowds to reach Lucius, where she collapsed into his arms, her knees close to giving way. The elder blonde didn't speak, just held his wife close to his chest, one hand wrapped securely around her waist and the other stroking her hair as she cried. However, once the party began to move, a captive Hagrid leading the way with a seemingly lifeless Harry Potter, Narcissa moved closer to Lucius, raising herself onto her toes to whisper closely into his ear.

"Draco is alive. Lucius, he-"

"I know." His words threw Narcissa off balance a little, as she had not expected that response at all.

"How did you-"

"Cissa, I've known you for over thirty years, I've been married to you for twenty-five. I know you almost as well as I know myself and I can see in your eyes that you've lied." Lucius, of course, knew the true reason that he knew of Narcissa's lie, but thought that describing such a horrific dream to her would be too difficult to bear.

"Will you tell him?" Narcissa regretted the question as soon as the words had passed her lips, but she just had to know. Lucius' features immediately turned to shock and almost frustration. He stopped the pair of them, pulling them slightly to the side so they didn't interrupt the flow of the army's march. Narcissa tried to turn her head, but Lucius put one hand on either side of her face so that she was forced to look into his eyes.

"Cissa, you don't even need to ask that question." Lucius said forcefully, his harsh demeanour turning gentle as soon as the words were spoken.

"I know."

"Now, Ciss. We have to go. After all, no-one can achieve what they want to if they stand around in the Forbidden Forest all day!" The joke brightened Narcissa's mood considerably as their hands entwined once more and they rushed forwards to regain their place at the front of the Dark Lord's forces.

The Malfoys' battle started here.

A/N: Quite long for this story, but I hope you like it. Review!


	6. Living in Fear

Chapter Six

A/N: Thanks to MarianaNM for reviewing. I really appreciate your kind comments!

Within the masses of the conquering army, Lucius and Narcissa walked hand in hand towards the courtyard of the once glorious castle. They were not as far from the front as they would have liked, being in the second row back behind Voldemort, who was only several feet in front of them, Bellatrix flanking him by two feet at the most, but they were far back enough to be able to clasp their hands together without the man viewing what he would deem as weakness. In their current position, the last thing they wanted to do was anger him.

As their army approached, Narcissa could see the other side of the war emerging from the castle. But, try as she might to see, she could not spot Draco anywhere within the crowd. Judging by his near defeated expression, neither could Lucius.

They halted as the two antagonistic groups came face to face at last. As they did so, however, Narcissa was horrified to see what their army was made up of. Children. The majority of them were around the same age as Draco, a couple possibly even younger, and it made her heart bleed to think of what their parents would go through, should the worst occur to them. The thought of such happening to Draco… it agonised Narcissa to even consider. If it was in fact true, she knew she would not survive the pain.

The Dark Lord had begun to speak, casting a spell to silence a screaming girl that had been held back by Arthur Weasley. Judging by the hair, she must have been his youngest child, his only daughter. Ginevra, she thought her name was. She was certain that that was what Molly had told her once, before they had been at such odds. There was Molly now, standing just a little behind her husband and daughter, a couple of her other sons beside and behind her.

Then a few of the Dark Lord's words caught the woman's attention. He had asked that if any of his army were standing on the other side of the courtyard, that they would join him now or face lethal consequences. This was Draco's chance. If he was here, he could come to them. They could flee as soon as the fighting broke out again. Then a boy stepped forwards, a boy of seventeen. Only it was not him.

The boy, Narcissa recognised as Neville Longbottom, the son of the couple her sister had tortured into insanity. She remembered seeing the boy in St. Mungo's once, long before the tragedy had occurred, when both he and Draco had been struck down with a strong dose of the winter influenza. He had been a shy boy, though strong and extremely protective, of his mother in particular. A trait he shared with her own son.

He had begun to speak, making a speech against the army that stood opposite him, fearlessly declaring the values that his own army stood for. Narcissa felt a flicker of pride as she watched him. The boy had come through so much, struggled against the darkness for so long, yet he was still fighting on. Just like Draco. Just like Lucius. Just like her.

She carried on listening to the boy, until something made her heart skip a couple of beats. The Gryffindor had stated that Harry Potter was still with them. Narcissa began to breathe more heavily, her heart now pounding so loudly she was almost certain that even the Dark Lord could hear it. He may not have been able to, but Lucius might have been, as his hand tightened around hers, trying to reassure her, to make her see that everything would be alright. It could still be a false promise.

It took quite a few moments for Narcissa to comprehend the fact that he had said it as a figure of speech, to rally their troops rather than to speak literally, yet still the blonde woman was on edge. The ominous feeling, the feeling that the Dark Lord could simply turn around and murder her on a split second's whim, with no apparent motive at all, just because of the kind of man he was. He was an unpredictable, violent and dangerous madman. That would be enough to terrify even the strongest of witches.

Suddenly, penetrating the silence of the listening crowds, the metallic ring of a sword echoed loudly through the courtyard, as the Longbottom boy pulled what looked to be the sword of Godric Gryffindor himself out of the Sorting Hat. At precisely the same time, Harry Potter tumbled from the half-giant Hagrid's humungous arms, rolling on the floor and, miraculously, rising to his feet and beginning to run.

Once again, Narcissa's airways closed up, her head spinning with the sheer terror she was experiencing. The Dark Lord knew, there was no doubting that now. He knew that she had lied to him, lied right to his face, a prime example of treachery if ever there had been one. Narcissa would die this night, she was sure of it.

Unsurprisingly, Lucius did not agree. He had utterly disregarded everything but his wife, grasping her hand even more firmly and using it to pull her along behind him, seeing the chaos of battle to be a perfect smokescreen to search for their son.

"Lucius." Narcissa gasped, as they ran into the Entrance Hall. She was met with no response, so persevered. "Lucius!"

When Lucius eventually deemed it safe for them to stop, he did so, turning to look his wife in the eye. He seemed to know what she was going to say before she had done so, and pulled her to his chest, stroking her mussed blonde hair as a few tears escaped her eyes.

"Lucius, what if He finds us? What if He finds Draco first? What if He…" Narcissa cried, but Lucius cut her off, raising a single finger and gently pressing it to her lips, silencing her in an instant.

"Narcissa, that is not going to happen. I will not let the Dark Lord hurt you, or Draco. I would rather die myself. Do you understand me?" Narcissa merely nodded. "Good. Now, come on. We have a son to find."

A/N: I know it's been a while, but we all know about the memory stick by now. Please review!


	7. Lost and Found

Chapter Seven

A/N: Thanks to Zireal07 and NimbusCentuar for reviewing.

Even through the smoke, the fire and the screaming crowds, Narcissa and Lucius ran as fast as they had ever done before. They had never been so fearful in their lives, and all they wanted to do now was find Draco and return to their home, to another, to anywhere but Hogwarts. This battle was not theirs to fight. Not anymore.

After many minutes of searching, Narcissa began to despair. Where was he? They had searched all the places they thought he could be, to no avail. They had practically searched the whole castle. Why hadn't they found him by now? She started to run faster, despite the burning pain in her throat, the lack of air reaching her lungs making her faint.

Suddenly, Narcissa tripped over a displaced flagstone, falling to the floor and nearly dragging Lucius down with her. He bent down immediately, wrapping his arms around her to bring her to her feet. He would not usually have lifted her so soon when she was evidently injured, but they were unsafe staying where they were, and they needed to find Draco.

As soon as she put her weight on her foot, Narcissa cried out in pain, collapsing into Lucius' chest. He had looked down at her ankle when she had fallen, and it looked as if it were definitely twisted, probably even sprained. There was no helping that, though. She would just have to lean on him.

Wincing as she did so, Narcissa took Lucius' hand and continued to run, leaning her weight on the man and crying out on occasion with the searing pain burning through her body.

After an unknowable amount of time, the pair heard a familiar voice yell out, obviously in the throes of battle judging by the ferocity of his tone. Even through the fear of the situation the voice was in, the elder Malfoys had hardly ever been so relieved to hear it.

As soon as they had bolted up the Grand Staircase, Narcissa with far more difficulty than her husband, the pair were delighted to come face to face with Draco, deeply emerged in a battle with a masked Death Eater, one which, by the looks of it, he was certainly standing his ground in.

The battle went on for a matter of minutes, fierce and interrupted by the pair watching the action. Then, with a cry and a flash of emerald light, the masked man fell to the ground, leaving the pale blonde standing shakily above him. At this, the trio stood still, barely breathing with the shock of what the young man had done. After just a moment, Narcissa began to move.

"Draco!" she cried, running up the staircase, even as blinding pain whitened her vision. The younger immediately turned, descending the stairs two steps at a time and being swept into the woman's embrace."

"Mum. I thought I wasn't going to see you again." Draco near whimpered into his mother's shoulder, while she gently stroked his white blonde hair.

"Ssh, Draco. We're here now, there's no need to worry." Narcissa soothed, gritting her teeth subtly against the agonising pain in her ankle. Unfortunately, she did not do so subtly enough.

"Mum, what've you done?" the young man asked, his eyes widening in fear.

"It's nothing. It's nothing, sweetheart, I'm fine." his mother attempted to convince him, to little avail, especially as Lucius had now approached them.

"Actually, you're not, Narcissa. Sit."

"Lucius, we are in the middle of a war, I don't have time to just-"

"Sit." he repeated. This time, Narcissa acquiesced, perching awkwardly on a large piece of debris. Lucius pulled up her skirt, ignoring Draco's cries of protest as he did so.

"Lucius, I'm fine."

"Narcissa, you're not, and I know that. Draco, will you please be quiet?"

"Alright." the boy sighed, though he still averted his eyes from where his father was kneeling far too close to his mother's legs for his liking, though his intentions were, in fact, entirely innocent. From where the hem of her dress had been raised, Lucius could see that his wife's ankle was covered in blood, inflamed, bruised and, from her reactions, most likely broken.

"This isn't good, Cissa. It's broken." Lucius told the woman, seeing her sigh and roll her eyes, something that was utterly predictable for her.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that. I can't leave the school now, and even if I could, I wouldn't. So, it looks like you're out of luck." Despite the negative words she conveyed, Narcissa still had a hint of joy audible in her tone. Lucius fell silent, bar his sighs of frustration, as he realised that the woman was right. She always managed to get her own way somehow, and today was no exception.

"You're right. I hate to say it, but you're right." Lucius told his wife, who had a smirk on her face that would rival one of his own. "Still, you are not going anywhere near the fighting. You are going to sit this battle out, and we will come and find you when we're finished. Is that clear?"

"Crystal. But that doesn't mean I'll listen." Narcissa responded, her smirk still not reduced in the least. Lucius sighed once again in pure annoyance, but Draco let out a laugh, much to his father's disappointment, and his mother's amusement.

Suddenly, the deafening bang of an explosion sounded from within the Great Hall. The trio shared glances full of shock and fear, before standing and descending the staircase. In truth, the eldest Malfoy was not at all happy about his wife coming with them, but by this time, he was much too tired to argue.

Upon reaching the room, a thought struck Narcissa at the sight she saw. There a certain familiarity about the woman that went far beyond the years she had known her.

"Oh, no." Narcissa breathed, as a tear slipped down her face. "It was her."

A/N: Who did she see, I wonder? Any guesses, pop them into a review!


	8. Paying the Price

Chapter Eight

A/N: Thank you to Zireael07, Guest, Riecke, MarianaNM (twice) and my second Guest for reviewing.

Narcissa could still not believe it, after at least five minutes to comprehend. After all this time the two women had spent together, after all they had been through… how could she do this to them?

"Lucius?" the woman questioned her husband, her voice barely above a pained whisper.

"What is it? What has she done?" he responded, wrapping an arm around her waist in an attempt to elicit an answer from his wife.

"She's betrayed me." was all the younger blonde said back to him, before she began to make her way into the room, biting her lip with extreme force in an attempt to not cry out in pain.

There she stood, bold as brass, the woman who had hurt her so. Her maniacal laugh echoed through the Great Hall, reverberating from the stone walls and filling everyone's hearts with dread. It was the laugh of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Ah, Cissy! How nice of you to join the party!" The falsified sweetness in the woman's voice was utterly sickening, as she turned to face her younger sister, whose face held nothing but contempt for the other.

"Don't play that game with me, Bella!" she snapped, unable to control the urge to do so any longer. Bellatrix was evidently shocked at the outburst, raising a hand to her chest in mocking.

"Why, little Cissy, I thought you didn't snap. It's all part of being a good Pureblood housewife, you know."

"And what would you know about that?" Narcissa shot back, her eyes narrowing. "Over the past few years, you've been warming the Dark Lord's bed a thousand times more than your husband's. Or so I've been told."

The woman had, of course, expected her sister to attempt to deny the allegations, to protest against them, even to attack her. Merlin knows, that was what she would have done in that situation, although she would never have cause for her to worry about anything like that, as she had never once been unfaithful to her husband, who had pulled her lovingly to his chest, and would never dream of doing so. Contrary to her expectations, Bellatrix did none of those things. All she did was laugh.

"Oh, Cissy, Cissy, Cissy… you do surprise me. I never thought that you would be so judgemental. After all, it isn't like you and your brood have never made mistakes." Bellatrix snickered, unaware of the rage that was bubbling away in her sister's mind, until the woman spun round to face her, knocking Lucius backwards a couple of steps.

"Let's not talk about my family, Bella, let's talk about yours." the woman began, a malicious glint surfacing in her eyes as woman's untouchable façade faltered for just a moment. "Let's talk about the sacrifices _you_ made for the cause. Why don't we talk about your children, Bella?"

Across the room, numerous gasps echoed, all merging into one as they learnt this shocking fact.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Narcissa asked, addressing the room and not just her sister, who was gritting her teeth in anger. "Well, then, Bella, dear, why don't we tell them?"

The woman still remained silent, though this did not deter the blonde, neither did the hand of her husband on her arm hold her back.

"When I was younger, I must have been fourteen, my sister came home with some wonderful news. She was pregnant. At that age, I was thrilled, thrilled that I was going to be an aunt. And I was. Briefly." By this point, a single tear had fallen from Bellatrix's eye, just visible before she wiped it away, her smile long since gone. "You see, even at eighteen, Bellatrix was obsessed with the Dark Lord. She would do anything for him, give up anything. And so, one day, when her little Phineas was only three years old, do you know what she did?"

Silence fell across the whole room, all fighting ceased as Death Eaters wished to find out about their ally, and others about their enemy.

"She offered him up as target practice." Narcissa finished, a bitter tone in her voice. Another tear fell from Bellatrix's eye, though this time she made no attempt to wipe it away, waiting to see if her sister would continue. She did. "Two more children followed, in the next six years. Both of them were dead by the time I was twenty three. And after all that time, after all that you gave away, how many miscarriages had I had?" Still, Bellatrix was silent. "How many?!"

"Eight." the elder responded, finally seeing fit to speak.

"Eight." Narcissa clarified. "And even then, another one was to follow, and then I finally got the child I had been craving, after all those years of heartbreak. Do you have any idea how much that hurt me?"

When the woman finally met her sister's eye line, the sadness had almost disappeared, leaving only pity.

"Yes, I did all of that. And yes, I regret that I hurt you like that. But I was loyal to the cause. That's more than I could say for you. And to some extent, that was why you had to learn." This statement meant nothing to the majority of the room, but to Narcissa, it was the confirmation she had needed to hear.

"I knew it. I knew it had to have been you." After she spoke, the blonde turned to her husband and son, in an attempt to explain. As she did so, she noted the tears in Lucius' eyes. He hated the topic of the children being brought up, as he had suffered with it almost as much as she had. "On the night you found me in the garden, I couldn't see who had done that to me. But afterwards, when I was still recuperating, I realised something. The person that hurt me couldn't have Apparated in, because the wards were up. That meant it could only have been one of three people. I know that it wasn't you, Lucius, or you, Draco, and there was only one other person it could have been."

Once again, she turned to face Bellatrix, who had raised her wand, clutching the wooden handle as if it were her only lifeline in the world. But instead of directing it to Narcissa, she directed it behind her.

"And it seems as if you still haven't learnt." was all Bellatrix said, before opening her mouth once more, to speak the simple phrase she had spoken so many times before.

Before she had a chance to harm Draco, though, Narcissa stepped forward, raising her borrowed wand and shouting the same phrase, one that was far less familiar to her, yet she still managed to speak just a little faster, making all the difference to the outcome.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

A/N: This story is almost done, but I just wanted to ask; would anyone be interested if I carried on with a sequel, detailing the outcome of the events after the last chapter? I just need to know, otherwise I'll change the ending. Please review and tell me!


	9. Breaking Free

Chapter Nine

A/N: Thanks to NimbusCentaur and MarianaNM for reviewing.

As the elder woman collapsed to the ground, time seemed to stop for Narcissa.

Although she had been involved with the Death Eaters for many years, and had spent the majority of those years regretting Lucius dragging them into this, Narcissa had never harmed another person, bar defence, and certainly not her own family. Not her own sister.

In light of this, it was obvious to anyone who knew her that the woman had never killed, in self-defence or otherwise. She had never let the toxic words of the most putrid of curses pass over her lips, and had never intended to allow such. She would have never wished to lower herself to the depths of the Death Eaters' terrible actions. Now, that was precisely what she had done.

Turning to face the group behind her, Narcissa caught the gaze of her husband, whose mouth was slightly agape with the shock of the situation, as she imagined hers would be if she had only been a witness. Beside the man, Draco looked horrified, as if he could no more believe what she had done than she could herself, something that the woman did not doubt at all. She had always been the leading light for Draco, and now that she had committed the same crime as his father had done many times over, he would be lost in the darkness.

As her breathing began to deepen and her heart rate started to increase, Narcissa hardly noticed as she pitched forwards. She felt nothing until her fall was broken. At first, she had thought that she had fallen to the floor, but it only took a moment for her to notice that, in fact, Lucius had caught her before she could collide with the cold flagstones. Feeling the man's arms wrapped around her, and once again catching sight of the woman lying dead at her feet, the blonde could no longer stop herself from crying.

As Lucius held the two of them, bringing them to the floor, Narcissa began to sob, muffling her cries in her husband's robes, in an attempt to retain what little dignity she had remaining. She only did this out of a force of habit, as after the plight of her family under Voldemort's rule, she cared little for dignity, only for the lives of those she held dear. Now, she had put them in danger, for an argument that could have been solved any other way than what she had done. Or so she thought.

Narcissa had almost calmed when a cry came from the opposite side of the Great Hall, loud enough to carry through the hordes of people who had resumed their individual battles. The cry was shocking and terrifying for those that heard it, as they knew whose throat it had come from, the very person that they had never thought to care for anyone. The cry was Voldemort's.

The man was approaching them, a look of anguish on his usually emotionless face. It was then that Narcissa realised not only how terrible her actions had been, but how foolish. Bellatrix Lestrange was the most loyal of the Dark Lord's followers, and now he was coming to wreak revenge for the woman's murder.

"It seems that you have not yet learnt your lesson, Mrs. Malfoy." Voldemort told the blonde, his low and dangerous voice clearly showing his displeasure. "This is thrice now that you have defied me, and twice in only a few weeks. This is simply not acceptable, especially to injure those with whom you share pure Wizarding blood."

"I am aware that you feel this way about my actions, sir…" Narcissa spoke up. She was pleased with herself for not using the term 'My Lord', a term she had been taught to use since she was but seventeen years old. After all, the man did not hold power over her any longer, so why should she afford him the luxury of such a title. Buoyed with courage, the woman continued to speak. "But I must tell you that I care little for what you think. All I care for is my family, and I will destroy anyone or anything that tries to harm them. That includes even you, Voldemort."

The man seemed taken aback at that moment, though whether this was by her defiance or by her open use of his name, he was not sure. In truth, neither was Narcissa herself, but she attempted to hide this fact as best she could. The last thing she needed was to be seen as weak or vulnerable by a man who had the power to decimate her family in an instant, a power that no one would dare attempt to take from him, not until he was defeated, if that time ever came. If she were to rile him too much, her whole family would pay the price, and not one would stand in the path of Voldemort's wand for them then.

"I have warned you before of the price of failure." he said as he finally reached a few feet before her. "In fact, I have warned all of you of the consequence of betraying the marks on your arms. The simple act of not bearing the mark will not exempt you from this, Narcissa Malfoy."

As he spoke, Narcissa could not help but bow her head. It was not an act of obedience that made her do this, but a lack of wish to look into Lord Voldemort's piercing red eyes, eyes which were so obviously judging her. Eyes that may be preparing to end her life.

That thought was confirmed as the man raised his wand arm, the infamous Elder Wand aimed directly towards her chest. As fear took over her, Narcissa closed her eyes, though her head was raised. However, just as the man began to state the curse, he stopped.

Opening her eyelids out of pure curiosity, the Malfoy matriarch was surprised to see that Voldemort had fallen once again. Only this time, he was dead.

Looking further back down the room, to see who had freed her family from their slavery to the Dark Lord. She was not surprised to receive a nod from a young man with black hair, the young man who had saved her life for her saving his own.

"Thank you, Harry Potter."

A/N: The next chapter is the last one, unfortunately. But, due to popular demand, I am doing the sequel. It will be called Trial and Error, so keep an eye out.


	10. Reprieves and Arrests

Chapter Ten

A/N: Thank you to cecilee, NimbusCentaur and MarianaNM for reviewing.

As the sun began to set in the sky, the Great Hall of Hogwarts finally began to submit to the darkness it had been denying since so early that day. The floating candles had been destroyed, and so had the majority of the torches on the walls, meaning that the night could no longer be barred from the place they had all once called home. Everything was ruined. Almost everything was gone.

Amidst the chaos of fallen debris and grieving families, the Malfoys sat huddled together beside what would have been the Ravenclaw table. Houses did not matter anymore. They were too broken to keep old prejudices alive, and too isolated to differentiate too vastly between their fellow witches and wizards. If they kept their heads down for now, they may just succeed in remaining out of prison.

Narcissa Malfoy, in person, had never been so thankful in all her life. Kingsley Shacklebolt himself, the new Minister for Magic, had approached them in person to say that neither Draco nor Lucius would be prosecuted for being a Death Eater, as both of them had defected during the War, and had not fought in the final Battle.

The mark that Voldemort had left on the Wizarding World could quite plainly be seen from any direction glanced at. The rubble had fallen at the hands and feet of His giants, the Light side slain at the wand of His Dark followers, and the world outside had been devastated by his fruitless quest for power.

Despite all of the terror and despair that filled the air of the Great Hall, the celebrations were just as evident, if not more, than the pain of loss in the fight to achieve it. '_There are people in this war who have suffered far more than I have done.'_ Narcissa reminded herself, wrapping her arms even tighter around her son than she had done before, simultaneously leaning back into her husband's warm embrace. '_I merely need to be thankful for what I have kept, rather than focusing on all that has been taken from me.'_

Of all the people in all of the world, the blonde found her thoughts drifting in the direction of her sister. Not the one who had been felled by her wand, but of the other, who had been turfed from their home when she had been only seventeen years old, Narcissa only a month from turning fifteen. It had been a hellish time for the dark haired woman of late, or so her sister had learned from the _Daily Prophet_, and from various other sources that she had once had. Her husband had been taken by Snatchers, relatively early in the war, and the Malfoy woman was certain that she had seen her Metamorphmagus daughter and her werewolf husband lying among the dead. She had once despised Andromeda from leaving her alone, that much was true, but she would not have wished that pain on her worst enemy, let alone on her own family. It was the cruellest thing that could ever have been.

When she began to rise from her perch on the bench, Lucius stopped her with a hand clasping around her wrist, not firmly enough to hurt her, but firmly enough to keep her in place. True, he did not truly have the old Pureblood prejudices left in his mind, as he had seen pure, half and Muggle-Born blood spilled that day, but currently, the man did not want his wife anywhere out of his line of sight, for fear that others in the castle had not had the same courtesy to abandon their old preconceptions as the Malfoy family had done. Not wanting to make her husband uneasy, Narcissa once again sat down, resting her head on his shoulder, while clasping her son's hand in hers.

"We were so lucky." she whispered, just loud enough that the two blondes on either side of her could hear. "We could have been killed today, all of us, by either side. We could have been slaughtered by Potter's followers, for standing behind the Dark Lord, and yet we could have been murdered by those who were our own, because of the treason I committed in the forest."

There was another sentence that she would have said, but Lucius stopped her the moment she opened her mouth again, pressing two fingers gently to her lips. "Narcissa, this was not your fault. You did what you felt was right to be done, for the safety of our family. Nothing has happened to us, we are all perfectly fine. Do not blame yourself for this battle. It was not our war to fight."

"I know that it wasn't." she informed her husband, her voice still only a little louder than it had been the first time she'd spoken. "But I still feel that I should have done more, that we should have done more, to stop them from taking over."

In truth, neither Lucius nor Narcissa was sure of whom she spoke, the Light side or the Dark, when she said that they should have prevented their takeover of the school, and neither of them truly cared. They were now neutral, and did not class either side as their enemy, so it was of no consequence who they should have stopped. The battle was over and done with, and the Malfoys had no one left to fight.

Or so they had thought.

"Mrs. Malfoy?" came a questioning voice from behind the family. Upon hearing her name, Narcissa turned, immediately making to stand.

"Minister." she responded, upon seeing that she was addressing the new Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, flanked by two Aurors. "How can I help you?"

"I'm afraid, Mrs. Malfoy, that you will need to come with us." the first Auror said, stepping forward in a way that, for some reason, made the blonde feel uneasy.

"I'm not sure that I quite understand." she told the man, in a quiet voice, seething a little as she noticed the slight stammer in her voice. She was utterly confused, that much was true of both herself and her family, but that did not excuse, in her mind, a slip of the manners that had been drilled into her as a child. However, the words that followed made her world stop turning.

"Narcissa Cassiopeia Malfoy, I am arresting you for the murder of Bellatrix Lestrange."

A/N: And so it ends! This is the end of So Close, and Still So Far, but the sequel, Trial and Error, will be up in a couple of weeks. Please keep an eye out, and review my last chapter!


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